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Sarah should not Hijack Tara

The accusations against Israeli Prime Minister’s wife Sara Netanyahu are serious and disturbing.

Nepali caregiver hired to look after her ailing father has accused Ms Netanyahu of physical and verbal abuse.

This scandal is all over the Israeli press and has reached Nepali media too.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Israeli media is not a fan of Sara Netanyahu. Reports of her behaving badly with household employees have hurt her position further.

Nepali Migrant workers in the Middle East and Gulf States are often victimized and abused. Reports of workers denied pay, forced to live in crowded quarters without basic facilities are distressingly regular. Female workers are even
more vulnerable.

Compared to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, reports of workers abused in Israel is rare. But that does not mean it is a perfect environment.

Now, with this scandal involving the Prime Minister’s wife, the issue of migrant workers in Israel has come to the spotlight.

Nepal should take this as an opportunity to examine their policy on migrant workers, check Israel’s labor laws and make sure that rights of migrant workers are not violated.

But in no way should the political opportunists be allowed to lead this situation and use Tara Kumari to settle politics scores with the Netanyahus. That will hurt the effort to secure migrant workers’ rights and welfare and turn the issue into the political football.

Tara Kumari and workers like her need to be protected and their rights honored, injecting politics into this sensitive matter is going to make the problem even worse.

Sara Netanyahu should not hijack Tara Kumari!

Update on Sept 9,2011

A very emotional post on migrant workers and their life as an employee at Haaretz